


face to face with someone new

by charleybradburies



Series: Geraskier Week 2020 [2]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Children, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Male Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Cursed Jaskier | Dandelion, Exes, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Geraskier Week, Jaskier | Dandelion Has a Past, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Near Death Experiences, Oblivious Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, One Shot, POV Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Past Relationship(s), Post-Canon, Spells & Enchantments, True Love, True Love's Kiss, Violence, Witchers Have Feelings (The Witcher)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:48:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22766515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charleybradburies/pseuds/charleybradburies
Summary: Nestling in Geralt's side another time, with a strength that made him wonder if it was the only current comfort she had, Ciri whispers the question of iftheyshould try, because their importance to Jaskier surely overshadowed these people from his past.Geralt thinks about how many times he's considered kissing Jaskier, and tells Ciri that there are still others left on the list of past flames.Geraskier Week: Day 2 (Monster Hunt*).Title from "Eyes Closed" by Halsey.
Relationships: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Jaskier | Dandelion, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Geraskier Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1634425
Comments: 28
Kudos: 517





	face to face with someone new

**Author's Note:**

> *This was written for the "monster hunt" prompt but some of the content did melt into other prompts. 
> 
> (Also, this was originally intended as a 5 + 1. Originally.)
> 
> Please enjoy, kudos, and comment!

i.

Evils.

For all Stregobor's posturing about lesser evils, he'd dedicated a notable portion of his life to committing the greater ones.

One of these times they met, Geralt was going to kill him for it. Preferably the next time. A few seconds in, perhaps, or maybe he'd be in a mood to make sure the fucker suffered, and it would be a bit later.

After her spectacular assistance with the numerous hellish hunts that had tied into their contact with Stregobor, Geralt would have accepted Yennefer hunting the other mage herself, and would have trusted her to inflict a suitable amount of pain. 

But the tables had gotten turned and Ciri had been threatened, and Jaskier, the only caregiver of hers present - well, he was decent with a few weapons at this point, and one would be hard-pressed to best him in a battle of words, but he was utterly helpless against magic. As he was also a man who would not give up without a fight, especially if his _family_ was in danger, that had not boded well.

Geralt tried to be grateful that the enchantment hadn't _killed_ the bard, but he knew as well as any other weapon that it might only prolong suffering, and seeing Ciri at Jaskier's bedside, wiping away tears, blaming _herself_ , made Geralt's blood boil. Standing around made him feel so helpless, and it was a feeling he hated even more than most. 

Yen, too, had been the one who'd taken charge: to be sure they all got somewhere safe, and to calm her voice to try to reassure Ciri that it was only their attackers and their employer who were at fault. 

She was also the one among them with the faintest idea what a sleeping spell was, and how to break it.

 _True love's kiss._

More Destiny bullshit, but again some that Geralt was forced to believe in. If he didn't, Jaskier was fucked, as now the only circumstance by which Jaskier lives past the next full moon as it passes in Blaviken - _fucking_ Blaviken - is if they find his true love and facilitate a kiss between them within the next five days. Time had never passed faster, even though it was also terribly slow and Geralt was restless. 

The first night, Geralt and Yennefer settle their respective bedrolls on opposite sides of the bed, giving Ciri the free side of the bed that they've laid Jaskier in. The bard, remaining under Stregobor's spell, is the only one of them who gets any sufficient sleep. At least, Geralt hopes he does - hopes that when they manage to wake him he feels rested, unharmed, safe.

Geralt ends up taking the crying Ciri out of bed. She's nearly fourteen, but she sobs into him when he holds her, and he finds the largest chair he can to lean back in, letting her be above him and curl into him. He hums one of the lullabies Jaskier's written and sung for her, and strokes her back until she falls asleep again. He himself stays up, wondering how he can save their bard. 

Even if he - finally - hunts and kills Stregobor, the spell might not break. Yen was providing for them currently, so another contract wasn't necessary. 

He ends up making a list of the possible loves and what critical information he has about them. None are close by, to his knowledge, so it will be Yen who goes through her portals to beseech them to come for Jaskier, but giving her something to go on is important enough.

ii.

Yen regards him strangely when he gives her the list in the morning. It's not immensely strange for her to ask if he'll be okay - though today he can only say that he _has_ to be - but it is odd of her to ask if he's sure, once she's looked the list over and decided on her first target. She'll take on the work of finding and bringing the possible true loves, and Geralt will protect their current shelter and their companions.

He'll also think over his extensive failings where it comes to Jaskier, and while Yen doesn't acknowledge that she surely knows. Geralt has many years to think about, and Jaskier isn't awake to tell him that they're in the past.

As it goes, fair Dorian hasn't spoken to _Julian_ in _years_ , though he's glad to hear of him, to connect some dots. The man even remarks that the magic of his companions is a nice touch, something his partner from long ago surely loves. He's sweet to Ciri as he makes his way over, so Geralt resists his urge to say that they _know_ him, and _better_ than this Dorian does. 

The man is married, with his own children at home and the Pankratz family stables to be in charge of, so Geralt feels the slightest relief when his gentle kiss doesn't wake Jaskier. 

The slight relief is broken with Ciri's tears - though the man's attempt to comfort her with some soft words before Yen portals him home is touching - and Geralt thinks: it must be Countess Sofia de Stael.

iii.

The Countess is likely Jaskier's second most utilized muse, with her green eyes and dark hair and tight, blue dress, but that does not help them in this case. 

She gives them a couple charming stories about Jaskier that Geralt hadn't yet heard, but her kiss does nothing but leave a smudge of painted color on his lips. Ciri wipes it off as soon as the Countess leaves with Yen, and finds herself gathered up into Geralt's arms before she can start crying about it. 

Today, it's probably more for him than for her. 

If he focuses on Ciri, he doesn't have to think about what's more than likely coming, about having to wake up and go about his day with Jaskier gone. He doesn't have to think about how much he despises the possibility, and he doesn't have to think about the pang of jealousy he feels at the thought that someone is bound to _his_ bard, that there's someone else out there with a deep enough part of him to be his true love. 

He thinks about all of that still.

iv.

Anna Henrietta is bitter, especially because it's Geralt calling for her help - the very man Jaskier had left her side to adventure with a few years back. Geralt holds his tongue rather than saying that he'd been adventuring with Geralt when he'd met her, that Jaskier had taken a hiatus from Geralt and his own bardic endeavors to stay with her for a time, and lets Ciri's smile and sweet voice entice the woman to help. 

Yen meets Geralt's eyes with a look that warns that this woman won't be the one, barely seconds before he feels the three of them fully shift from hope to sadness. 

Nestling in Geralt's side another time, with a strength that made him wonder if it was the only current comfort she had, Ciri whispers the question of if _they_ should try, because their importance to Jaskier surely overshadowed these people from his past.

Geralt thinks about how many times he's considered kissing Jaskier, and tells Ciri that there are still others left on the list of past flames.

v. 

Viscount Emil, another man from another past, another flamboyant noble who turns up their nose at being in the company of a witcher, is dragged through a portal after demanding that Yen wait out his daily business as though he thought a mage - with a dying friend, at that - would be placable. 

She's sure to assure Geralt that she told his castellan that he'd return soon, but Geralt can't muster even the desire to care. He hates knowing what comes after this, and yet his heart is dark with a pleasant feeling when this particular subject of one of Jaskier's songs of heartbreak does not wake him. 

_Jaskier is far too good for him, for all of them, and yet -_

The viscount remarks that Jaskier lived a colorful life, but has the sense to wait for the portal to be waiting for him before telling them with half a sneer to let _Julian's_ parents bury him, properly.

Geralt barely lasts a few seconds before vocalizing a hope that Emil's parents _don't_ get that chance.

It's his own sweet Ciri who has to remind him that's a cruel thing to wish on someone's parents.

vi.

There are too many other lovers and bedfellows in Jaskier's past, too many that none of the three of them recall or even know. Even if they could swiftly compile a longer list of those that might be considered compatible, they'd never cover it in a day.

Their party of four is all bound by fate, and Geralt wants to imagine something in _that_ will help. He would not say he _liked_ or _trusted_ fate in its dealings, but surely Destiny wasn't done with Jaskier yet, with any of them. 

Ciri kisses Jaskier's still-chilly hands, and then his cheeks, and his eyes twitch beneath their closed lids, enough to move them, enough to give them a sign: the ephemeral magic of Destiny was in charge here. Could that take away from Stregobor's power?

Yen does her best, then, deciding to try to sway Stregobor's magic with her own. She doesn't expect her own kiss to change anything, as there had been tension but never romance between her and Jaskier, but she brings in as much of her power as she can in an attempt to persuade the bard to wake - to bend him to her will, as she's done with so many others. 

As stubborn as he ever is, he doesn't bend to her. 

Ciri launches herself at the bed, lamenting that she had needed to be saved, that the mission had meant her magical guardians were away, that she with her still-uncertain grasp of her own power hadn't been able to protect _him_.

There are decisions to make, terrible ones, but Geralt and Yen make them in time for Yen to take Ciri away. She's had more than enough people die, people who'd protected her, loved her; the least they can do is keep her from watching the process. If he'd been awake, Jaskier wouldn't have wanted her to stay, and would have said as much.

He, too, would have told her, as he had before - to Geralt's chagrin and Ciri's worry - that he would happily give his life to protect her. He would have wanted to, in a more cheerful way than Yen can manage, tell Ciri that he loved her and would not regret his actions.

Years back, Geralt would have said Jaskier didn't think his actions through enough to regret anything, that he didn't seem to have a mind that regarded consequences. It had been charming, in its own way, like Ciri's faith in humanity; some humans could see such deep darkness and yet believe in better.

Now, Geralt knew better than to think Jaskier's optimism was due to youthful ignorance or disregard. It was simply part of the power he wielded over his own life - over theirs. 

Geralt could not imagine how they'd be, if they truly became without him. They'd parted ways for periods of time in the past, and even those had always been more difficult than Geralt would admit. It was not that Geralt had not thought of the possibility, had not heeded it - all the way back to Jaskier's first hunt, his mortality had been a concern. Perhaps they'd gotten complacent, sloppy, taken his safety for granted - not that Geralt's ponderings particularly mattered, as though knowing would change their circumstances. 

Ciri finishes her goodbye to Jaskier, and lets Yen secure her cloak, rushing then to Geralt and letting him hold her close and kiss her head. He tries not to think how often Jaskier gladly took that opportunity; she'd been growing into more of a true adolescent, wanting more and more independence, but she did still love them, and they, her.

Yen, with her own cloak clasped, leans into Geralt's side.

"Your turn, sir secret admirer." 

Her voice tries to be teasing, as she's been before when commenting on the dynamic, on Geralt's particular softness for his bard and Jaskier's dedication to his witcher, but sadness shows through, the seriousness coating the statement.

Part of him wants to verbalize a protest, as he would in the past, but there's nothing to say that Geralt can put any power behind. He's danced around attraction to his friend since before they'd even met Yennefer, and now was no time to pretend it had dissipated as he'd once hoped it would.

Yen squeezes his shoulder in an attempt to be comforting, and conjures the portal that will take her and Ciri away to a different town. 

He stares at the spot they leave from for some time, and then he notices the light begin to change, the sun really beginning to set. Without Ciri or Yen to see him, Geralt's dread of grief sets in, the gut-wrenching pain of being so _powerful_ and yet not being able to stop death from taking someone so important to him.

Unless he was, actually, able. 

On no other day would he have taken the chance, and he never had. It feels wrong, to stand at the bedside and take Jaskier's hand, him having no noticeable awareness of the touch. It wasn't a touch that could be explained as having a purpose, were Jaskier to wake. But then, if he were to wake, would he be opposed to the touch? 

_True love's kiss._

_Fuck._

For a time that's not the first and will not be the last, Geralt curses destiny.

And for a time that's not the first and will not be the last, he plays its game.

He doesn't have a full hour before the sun has set, before Jaskier is lost forever. 

So he takes the chance, and wets his lips, and leans down. 

And is answered with a tentative kiss. 

That is, until one of Jaskier's cold hands reaches to feel Geralt's cheek and then his hair. The bard gives a small, happy chuckle, starting to add _glee_ to his own normal honeysuckle scent, and then presses forward with passion that Geralt can do nothing with but to return it with his own.

vii. 

Jaskier does eventually pull out of the kiss, though his hand in Geralt's hair tightens just a bit, keeping the witcher low over him.

"So, I'm clearly dead, and it's um, good to know I get rewarded in the afterlife, but an explanation, actually, would be nice, too."

Geralt's immediate _hmm _has him pulling up his head a bit and letting out a surprisingly deep laugh a moment later, and both he and Jaskier open their eyes.__

____

____

Jaskier lets go of Geralt's hair, moving his slightly-warmer hand back to Geralt's hand where it rests above his knee on the blankets. 

"However, you do seem quite real for an extension of a lovely dream," he adds, a hint of realization there, a tinge of nervousness in the air. 

"If I explained, I'm not certain you'd believe me, though I'd hope you would," Geralt manages to reply. 

Naturally, Jaskier believes him, because being saved by _true love's kiss_ is absolutely the sort of thing he's ecstatic to believe in, especially with Geralt being his love.

They take some time to adjust in the moment - Geralt needing a bit more time than Jaskier, just to lay around and kiss and be alone - before Geralt calls for Yen to come back. 

Ciri's never been so elated, and Yen's never been so smug. 

__viii._ _

Jaskier writes a dramatic, rousing song about the whole incident, taking care not to leave out Stregobor - Strego _bitch_ is better, Jaskier insists - and his involvement. 

It unites crowds nearly as quickly as "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher" had, and spreads just as far. With lines about any metaphorical pie Stregobor had had his fingers in, back to the Black Sun and the reality of what transpired, the beautiful, romantic end of the mage's own curse backfiring because a _witcher_ fell in _love_ is greatly enjoyed. 

Some people surely miss the little ways Jaskier identifies himself as the one being loved, but none of Jaskier's companions do - and just as importantly, Stregobor doesn't either. 

__iv._ _

__They get to make the sorcerer suffer - not just for Jaskier, but for everyone he's hurt throughout his overly long life._ _

__Yen gets to build the pressure in his body to and beyond a point where he can't stand it, Geralt gets to shove his silver sword right through his heart, and Jaskier gets to watch, out of reach behind a magical field with his lute and fingers cycling through songs. None of them are willing to let Ciri be present, but they recruit Triss to be a guard so there are trained magical talents this time._ _

Ciri decides she quite likes Triss, too, at some point, even though she's not fond of being _babysat_ like a _child_. 

Jaskier gets to be the one with the immediate answer of "you're _our_ child." 

__v._ _

__Geralt watches Jaskier sleep more than he used to. Jaskier soothes him somewhat well with the knowledge that their kiss would wake him, but a Geralt who feels is a Geralt who fears, and it's his place to protect his family, his partner._ _

His _true love_. 


End file.
